Weeks before flash floods devastated the Texas Hill Country, Gov. Greg Abbott participated in the first meeting of a new council to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He criticized FEMA as “slow and clunky,” arguing that states are able to respond “more nimbly, more swiftly, more effectively” to disasters.

President Trump has not talked about eliminating FEMA as the emergency response agency helps with recovery efforts from the Texas floods.

The Homeland Security chief denied that a memo she issued in June requiring her to approve FEMA expenditures over $100,000 caused the agency to move more slowly.